WE MUST PROTECT OUR ELDERS

A 46-year-old Murrieta man has been ordered to stand trial on a charge of attempted murder, accused of duct-taping his 73-year-old mother to a chair and severing the tube to her oxygen supply.

News reports say police — who found the woman with broken bones, cuts and bruises — have been called to her house numerous times in the last year to investigate abuse complaints. But each time the woman, who reportedly suffers from dementia, denied the allegations.

The sad thing is, this is by no means an isolated incident. Over the years, there have been dozens of reports of serious elder abuse all over Southern California, including a particularly disgusting case in Carlsbad a few years back in which a mentally deranged man murdered both of his elderly parents with a machete.

Statistics are hard to come by. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, “there is wide consensus that currently a clear picture of the incidence and prevalence of elder abuse in the United States is sadly lacking — and that such a picture ‘is essential if social policy is to be created to impact prevention and treatment.’”

One set of statistics, from UC Irvine’s Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect, estimates that one in 10 senior Americans is abused each year, although “as few as one in 23 cases is reported.”

Elder abuse is on the same level as child abuse — again, something we hear way too much about. And with the aging, or “graying,” of our population, experts expect elder abuse to skyrocket in the coming years.

The lack of hard data underscores the difficulties of preventing elder abuse. It’s hard to address a problem when you don’t know how big it is. But public awareness is a logical first step, which means educating the public about what little we do know about the problem — most elder abusers are family members, for instance, generally spouses or adult children — and then opening our eyes and ears to the condition of seniors we know. This applies as much to people we know well — our own family and friends — as it does to casual acquaintances, even friendly strangers.

Does the old lady you see every Saturday morning, walking her dog at the park, have a black eye? Does the little old man who always has a friendly smile for your 5-year-old when you run into him at Vons seem somehow distant, or off?

If you feel uncomfortable approaching people you hardly know, get over it. There’s nothing wrong with introducing yourself, exchanging names and flat-out asking, “Is something the matter? I’d like to help.”

If it takes a village to raise a child, let’s extend that village concept to our senior citizens, as well.